Where did he learn this idea, to which only greasy Islamophobes subscribe, in modern, moderate, multicultural Britain? Wasn’t he disabused of this idea by the legions of British moderates, and shown how it was wrong on Islamic grounds in his every visit to the innumerable moderate British mosques? Didn’t his moderate Islamic school headmaster take him aside at tea and explain to him that such ideas just weren’t moderate, old soak, just weren’t British, eh wot? “British ‘jihadist’ describes his plan to go to Iraq or Syria to fight,” by Ed Thomas, BBC News, August 15, 2014:
The role of a reported 400 British jihadists who have joined fighting in Syria and Iraq has been much highlighted in reports from the region in recent weeks.
But what is the motivation for people, usually revealed to be youngsters with little or no experience of conflict, to leave their homes in British towns and cities to do so?
One British man who is still in the UK has told the BBC in an interview that he feels it is his “obligation” to now go to Iraq or Syria.
We don’t know his real name, or where he comes from in the UK, and during our TV interview his face is covered with a bright red scarf.
After he says hello, “Ahmed”, as he wants to be known, speaks with purpose. He details why he wants to fight in Iraq or Syria.
“God has commanded for the Muslims to go and fight jihad”, he says.
It follows a call from the extremist group ISIS, now calling itself Islamic State (IS), for Muslims to leave their homes and join it in its often brutal battle.
For Ahmed it is a religious call he cannot ignore: “This thing takes takes precedence over everything else in my life at the moment, this is the biggest thing for a Muslim.
“To die as a martyr is the promise of paradise, the highest paradise.”
He only agreed to speak to us if he could cover his face and if we changed his voice. He never removed his scarf, we never caught even a glimpse of what he looked like.
“God has commanded for the Muslims to go and fight jihad”, he said. I asked why: he had a choice, he didn’t need to go, so why did he?
Ahmed paused before replying “I have a choice, yes but Islamically this is an obligation.”
What about his family that he would soon leave behind? He said: “Obviously they’re upset, some of them are upset but they’ll come around.”
But why are so many other young Muslims choosing to leave their family, friends and homes to fight in Iraq and Syria? Many observers believe answers can be found on the internet, with extremist propaganda and messages of jihad being sent around the world.
‘Religious obligation’
In a small room in north west London that he calls his “centre”, watching a video of a jihadist from Kosovo, we find Abu Saalihah.
He describes himself as a student of Sheik Omar Bakri – a radical Islamist preacher banned from the UK.
He openly supports IS and its online messages sent around the world.
The video he shows us has a jihadist burning his passport and waving a small sword.
Again and again, the man calls on other Muslims to join him in Iraq and Syria.
As the clip finishes, Abu Saalihah says: “That is the message coming out, it’s your religious obligation.”
I ask him if it’s this that’s radicalising young British Muslims?
He replies: “If you mean radicalised by them supporting ISIS, yeah without a doubt, I think you’ll find a lot of youth in the UK supporting ISIS and are willing to go abroad.”
The government says more than 400 people have left Britain to fight jihad and 60 people have been arrested for being involved in jihadist activities.
In Iraq and Syria, there is sectarian fighting. IS is accused of brutality, spreading terror against those who stand in its way.
‘Hijacking’
I point out to Abu Saalihah that if young British Muslims join extremist groups like IS they risk losing their lives in the conflict.
“The thing is that is what they are seeking,” he replies, “They are all seeking to die for the cause of God. For them it is a case of martyrdom of victory.”
I ask Abu Saalihah if he realises how disturbing that is for many people. He replies “It will disturb you if you are not from this camp. If you are from that camp, or that viewpoint, it is going to encourage you, motivate you.”
But there is a different voice. Inside the Paigham e Islam Mosque in Birmingham, Muhammad Sajjad, the imam, tells young people there is no jihad, there is only sectarian fighting. He is one of hundreds of imams to speak out against jihad.
Listening to his words are Zulficar Khatab and Ahsan Ahmed, two young British Muslims. They believe it is wrong to travel to Iraq and Syria to fight. They also believe they speak for the majority.
“It really hurts my feelings as a Muslim to see these people doing that and thinking its justifiable when it’s totally not justifiable at all in any way shape or form,” Zulficar says.
Abu Saalihah Abu Saalihah supports a banned Islamic preacherAhsan agrees: “I don’t think any religion would be proud if there’s radical people like that hijacking the name of their religion.”
Theirs though is a viewpoint lost on Ahmed. He believes he is answering a religious call. I asked if he had listened to the British imams, the ones who said it was wrong to go to Iraq and Syria.
“No”, he says, “’cause these imams, they are not showing the Islamic viewpoint, they are just government scholars, they are just saying what the government wants them to say.”
The government says that one of the real dangers of so many young people going to fight in Syria and Iraq is that, if they return, they represent a serious threat to the security of the UK.
Ahmed tells us he has no intention of ever coming back.
“No not at all, people in this country perceive jihad as people coming back here and bombing train stations and airports and killing innocent people. When I go I will never come back to this country again.”
We don’t know when he will leave or where he’ll go but we do know security services are watching British jihadis – to make sure they don’t bring their fight home.
manuel-rafael says
Now if only they could master that lemming thing.
Beagle says
Anyone reading Jihad Watch for a number of years can literally check the boxes of things this guy says off their mujahideen characteristics list. Fard ayn duty? Check. Paradise in the shade of swords? Check. Make Islam the only religion (“cause of Allah”)? Check. Global sharia (“cause of Allah”)? Check.
Meanwhile, in the peace studies classes: “How poor is he? This is mystifying.”
It’s bad when the ‘moderates’ use this tack:
“But there is a different voice. Inside the Paigham e Islam Mosque in Birmingham, Muhammad Sajjad, the imam, tells young people there is no jihad, there is only sectarian fighting. He is one of hundreds of imams to speak out against jihad.”
Translation: take the fight to the Dar al-Harb! He’s not speaking out “against jihad” but trying to point them at us.
Joseph says
“Allah has commanded us…”
Don’t gloss over that phrase.
Don’t think of it as just a manner of speaking. Think outside the secular/modern box and see at the level of the supernatural.
What is happening here is exactly what this individual says is happening.
Namely, Satan is speaking to these individuals and commanding them to go kill non-Muslims in Iraq and Syria. For anyone with eyes to see, clearly Allah is Satan. And when this man says he has been “commanded” by Allah to go and kill the non-Muslims, that is precisely what has happened. Satan is “speaking” to these individuals. Just as he did to their founder, Muhammad. Muhammad admitted as much in the Qur’an: that it was Satan himself who spoke to him.
Just as Christ through dreams and visions is converting thousands of Iranians secretly right now and there are whole villages in Iran that have become Christian, so Satan is calling his servants to do his bidding and cause as much human suffering as possible. Have you seen the videos and pictures readily available on the internet of what these devils are doing to little children and to women? It does NOT take a Ph.D. to see that this is diabolical in origin.
“Allah has commanded us…”
Indeed.
Open your eyes and see what is truly happening here, people. The “Tribulation” spoken of in the Book of Revelation has begun.
BC says
Talking about Satan and Book of Revelations, which are not revelations at all
but somebody’s ramblings and fantasies, puts you on the same level as the Islamicists
Joseph says
Christ Himself spoke of Satan. And the Book of Revelation is part of the Bible, which is the inspired Word of God. I fail to see how speaking of these things puts me on the same level as an “Islamicist” [to use your word; I prefer simply “Muslim”].
But I understand that you do not have Christian faith and I respect that. I believe that every person has the right and the freedom to believe as they see fit. And, while I disagree with your claim that the Book of Revelation is merely “ramblings and fantasies”, I respect your right to believe differently than I do. And it is precisely my Christian faith that teaches me to respect the freedom of another’s conscience in this way.
dumbledoresarmy says
Ever read Serge Trifkovic’s “The Sword of the Prophet”? There’s also Andrew Bostom’s encyclopaedic compilation, “The Legacy of Jihad”. And – though I haven’t read that particular one – Fregosi’s “Jihad in the West”.
If you read those, and if you read the accounts of the genocide of the Armenians in the late 19th and early 20th century (e.g Vahakn Dadrian’s accounts) you will see that what ISIS is doing is nothing new at all. Nor for that matter is it any different from what the Muslims in Sudan did to the Christians of the south, in the 1990s and earlier. Or from what the Turkish Muslms did to the Bulgarian Christians in the early-mid 19th century.
I don’t think there has, in fact, been any time in the past 1400 years of the history of Islam, that some part of the Ummah, somewhere, has *not* been doing to non-Muslims – whether on the small or the large scale – the sorts of horrors that ISIS is meting out to the Christians and Yazidis of Iraq.
So if you want to see this latest outburst of Quran-Sira-Hadith-emulating atrocities in Iraq as a sign of the “beginning of the Tribulation”.. why does the Genocide of the Armenian (and Assyrian, and Greek) Christians in Turkey – which was **worse** – qualify as such a sign, in your eyes? If it did you’d have to argue that the Tribulation began in the 1890s and has been going on for 110 years and counting.
Joseph says
Very good points. And, of course you’re right that historically Dar al-Islam has consistently waged jihad against Dar al-Harb. But the devil is in the details, as they say.
[Quick caveat, btw: in the penultimate phrase of your reply, there should be a “not” before “qualify”, correct? I’ll assume so, because that is what would make the most sense in context]. And btw the Thomistic thing below is done merely tongue-in-cheek, not as sarcasm. Just some fun on a Sunday afternoon.
On the contrary, I would maintain that the instances of jihad cited by you do not qualify as the beginning of the Tribulation and the reasons shall be made clear in my answer and in my replies to each objection below.
I answer that, following numerous passages of the Old Testament, to include: Ezekiel 25 and 36-38, Joel 3, Zechariah 10 and 12, Isaiah 12 and 30, Psalms 80-83, Micah 5, and short passages in both Amos and Daniel, to qualify as “the beginning of the Tribulation”, the jihad in question must take place *after* the re-establishment of the state of Israel [destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE] *and* must take place *after* the re-establishment of the Islamic Caliphate [formally dismantled in 1924 after the Ottoman defeat in World War I] *and* must take place in the region from which, biblically, the Antichrist shall arise.
[At least those are the three premises from which I shall argue. Of course, you are fully within your rights to disagree with any or all of these three premises. But that is another discussion indeed].
Reply to Objection 1. While the Armenian Genocide certainly qualifies as equally or even more atrocious than the ISIS jihad of today and while it certainly took place within the region from which, biblically, the Antichrist shall arise, unfortunately it also took place *before* the re-establishment of the Islamic Caliphate destroyed in 1924 and *before* the re-establishment of the state of Israel destroyed in 70 CE. And, as such, cannot qualify as the beginning of the Tribulation spoken of in Revelation.
Reply to Objection 2. [Same reply as to Objection 1] regarding your query about “what the Turkish Muslms did to the Bulgarian Christians in the early-mid 19th century”. All *before* the two key re-establishments.
Reply to Objection 3. While “…what the Muslims in Sudan did to the Christians of the south, in the 1990s and earlier…” certainly qualifies as genocidal jihad and while it certainly took place *after* the re-establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, unfortunately it also took place *before* the re-establishment of the Islamic Caliphate [I am using the re-establishment ostensibly effected by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the Islamic State in June of this year. I do understand that this re-establishment may indeed be short-lived and therefore *not* the true re-establishment referred to as the “revived” Beast in Revelation].
Furthermore, this jihad took place in Sudan. And, while Sudan certainly is an “Antichrist Nation” (one of the numerous nations scripture says Christ will wage war against in the Last Days) it is also almost certainly *outside* that region from which the Bible says Antichrist shall arise. Sudan is wholly within the continent of Africa and *not* close enough to the broad region of Turkey-Iraq-Jordan-Syria-Lebanon that seems to be indicated biblically as the region from which shall arise Antichrist. For these two reasons, I would maintain that the Jihad in Sudan to which you refer, while atrocious, does not qualify as the beginning of the Tribulation.
Bettina says
“He is one of hundreds of imams to speak out against jihad.” Really? Where are these hundreds of courageous imams, anyway? Why weren’t they ever written about? What’s the damned BBC up to, now? Why do they feel compelled to invent facts that don’t exist???
tpellow says
“West Needs To End Dithering Over Jihadists”
http://news.sky.com/story/1319173/west-needs-to-end-dithering-over-jihadists
John C. Barile says
Undeniable truth.
Elise says
If this man thinks that he is commanded by his God to fight jihad, why is he afraid to show his face? He is obviously not proud of his God, the Devil.
Mo says
@ Elise
“If this man thinks that he is commanded by his God to fight jihad, why is he afraid to show his face? He is obviously not proud of his God, the Devil.”
I am always struck by this as well. Do we know of any Islamic teaching or tradition of Mohammad that commands or encourages them to hide their faces? Or are they just cowards and do so on their own?
paddy says
But don’t you think that style is sooo ‘in’ now, sooo de rigeur?
Sorry, I have an incorrigible sense of humour but I DO agree with your comments.
BC says
Are you really so dim? If he showed his face he could be arrested. The BBC like the good little journalists they are, thinking they are like therapists or lawyers who cannot disclose client’s identities, they should have phoned the police so he could be followed when he left the studio and removed his mask.
tpellow says
BBC usually censors out the word ‘jihad.’
Over recent years, the BBC has politically supported the mass immigration into Britain from Islamic countries, such as Pakistan and Bangladesh. And now it discriminates in favour of Islam in its uncritical, discriminatory broadcasting of Islamic propaganda.
In short, the BBC plays a key political role in endorsing the Islamic colonization of Britain which is well advanced.
Beagle says
OK, that’s what I thought. For the BBC, this is as good as it gets in terms of telling the truth about jihad.
tpellow says
‘Times’ (£) front page, Saturday-
“US bombing raids to save Baghdad from jihadists.”
[Opening excerpt]:-
“The United States is preparing to launch bombing raids around Baghdad to protect Iraq’s fledgeling leadership from Islamic militants, amid signs of a growing co-ordinated global effort to tackle the crisis. The Pentagon has made clear that it has authorisation from President Obama to conduct airstrikes around the capital, which is 200 miles to the south of the Kurdish region of Arbil, the scene of bombing raids in the past week. Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said that the US Navy and US Air Force were authorised to launch attacks wherever Americans, military or civilian, were under threat. “The airstrikes that we have been conducting and authorised to do are predominantly to protect US personnel and facilities in and around Arbil, although the president was very clear that we have the authority to conduct airstrikes to protect…”
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/
Beagle says
Of course, now that the IS is adapting to the air threat and we’ve missed the opportunity for coordinated air strikes on many targets at once as an opening gambit to really make a difference, the inevitable mission creep. Mission creep which was totally foreseeable months ago, really over a year. When the Syrian situation became and all out regional sectarian war I predicted (at a place from which I’ve been banned) that this would drag us in at some point. And here we are.
I am not saying additional air strikes are not called for, the opposite, just completely botched from a tactical and strategic perspective.
tpellow says
“The British Muslims who want to live under the Islamic State”
http://www.channel4.com/news/radical-british-muslims-islamic-state-caliphate-iraq-syria
agwnonsense says
With those ideals WHY is he hiding his face.Wearing a mask indicates SHAME and FEAR <:o)
No Fear says
Obviously this man got the idea that “God has commanded for the Muslims to go and fight jihad” from reading Robert Spencer’s books. Where else could he possibly have got that idea from? It’s not in the Quran …….. oh …..wait …….
/sarc
tpellow says
“Calgary Islamist who fought with ISIS is dead, reports say”
http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/08/15/calgary-islamist-who-fought-with-isis-is-dead-reports-say/?
Wellington says
Ideally all these barbarians leave the West and they all die in jihad for Allah in Syria or some other Islamic hellhole.
Hey, I can dream, can’t I?
Beagle says
Thank you for the nice comment the other day. I share your ‘dream’ for jihadis. Oddly enough, allegedly, so do they.
TH says
The ordinary British folk with some common sense, something totally lacking in the likes of Cameronn and Obama, seem to be getting the message of the danger of jihadism.
An air campaign alone is insufficient. They need at least to send in special forces who can pin point the targets with laser. The drones and other smart bombs and extreemly well trained special forces on the ground it wouldn’t be that difficult to give ISIS a run for its money. There is no political will in the likes of Obama and Cameron.
paddy says
Let him go…just let them all go. We don’t care about you, you sad little psycho.
Lets face it, the world is a pretty awful place but the islamic world really, really sucks.
Jay Boo says
What a relief!
For a moment I thought this guy might be going to Syria for totally asinine reasons.
But since Allah called him to go, who we mere infidels to question his buffoonery?
bewick says
Ahmed – What about his family that he would soon leave behind? He said: “Obviously they’re upset, some of them are upset but they’ll come around.”
So the family know but haven’t informed the authorities. Only SOME of them are upset. Likely an extended family so probably the whole community knows but no-one tells the authorities. They are ALL complicit. I know what should be done!
Charli Main says
Just another run of the mill Muslim psychopath drawn to the endless opportunities of practicing Islam 101—-raping, looting, beheading and crucifying infidels with church and booking burnings during slacker periods.
Angemon says
Oh, “they are all seeking to die”, are they? Hope they all get what they seek. The sooner the better.
dumbledoresarmy says
From the article –
“In a small room in north west London that he calls his “centre”, watching a video of a jihadist from Kosovo, we find Abu Saalihah.”
A jihadist **from Kosovo**, eh? Yeah, that Kosovo, that Islamic state that a whole bunch of foolish Infidel countries helped to set up, because the poor widdle Muswims were being persecuted by the eeevil Serbs…Kosovo that was touted as a modern moderate Islamic country…yet here’s mention of a red-hot jihadist from Kosovo.
More:
“The video he [the UK-passport-carrying Muslim – dda] shows us has a jihadist burning his passport and waving a small sword.”
“Burning his passport”.
So why on earth are western countries hesitating to strip citizenship and residency from infidel-country-passport-holding mohammedans who have waltzed off to Syria or Iraq or anywhere else, to engage in Jihad? If the Mohammedans are burning their passports, then why not assume that they have nothing but contempt for the infidel countries whose passports they use/d to get to Syria, Iraq, etc…and **cancel those passports, that citizenship, that residency status**???
More:
‘Ahmed tells us he has no intention of ever coming back.
“No not at all, people in this country perceive jihad as people coming back here and bombing train stations and airports and killing innocent people. When I go I will never come back to this country again.”’
Hold that thought, mate.
So long as you and your ilk really *are* serious about not coming back, the more of you depart, the happier we jihad-aware infidels will be.
Off ya go, lads. And if you meet a sticky end, well, that’s what you’re after, isn’t it?
And if our Authorities have any sense, they would do nothing to stop you from leaving, but they *would* take steps to 1/ ascertain that you really *had* gone and 2/ strip you of your infidel-country citizenship or residency status, so as to make quite, quite sure that even if you did decide to come back and wage jihad *here*, after all, despite your protestations of never returning, you **won’t be able to**.
Champ says
That face covering conveys *shame* from the individual covering his face …hey if muslims are so proud of their “religion”, then why hide behind a covering?